Sacculated article of footwear



4, 1945- E. F. ALLEN 2,390,287

SACCULATED ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR Filed Feb. 19, 1945 E1. lz/z H E ALLEN,

1N VEN TOR.

Patented Dec. 4, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SACCULATED ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR Elijah F. Allen, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 19, 1945, Serial No. 578,729

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a sacculated article of footwear.

More particularly my invention is directed to the art of constructing footwear whereby, for example, a shoe, moccasin, slipper, sandal and similar articles, are formed from a s ngle piece of sheet leather simply by a combination of operations comprising one or more of the steps of splitting, rendering stretchable and shaping.

An important object of my invention is to provide as a new article of manufacture, seamless one p ece leather footwear.

Other objects, features and advantages of invention will here nafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing wherein is shown preferred generic embodiments of the invention expressed in difierent types of sacculated articles such as footwear,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article of footwear constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention. FiFig. 2 is a plan view of the article shown in Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of another article of footwear constructed in accordance with the princ ples of my invention.

F g. 5 is an enlarged section taken on line 5--5 ofFigA.

Referring in detail to the drawing, Figs. 1 to 3 show a sli per, the portion 1 of the sole which underlies the upper 8 being thinner than the rear portion 9 of the sole because of said upper be ng upraised therefrom after a splitting operation, presently to be described.

The method of constructing the heel portion In of the slipper shown in Figs. l-3 does not necessarily pertain. per se, to the present invention, and may be formed solely by a shaping and or a Stretching and shaping operat on as shown.

The slipper shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 has a scalloped throat portion II at the rear end of its upper 8, said upper being shown much thinner than the underlying sole portion 1. Along each side of the above described upper 8 the sole portion 1 has a marginal extension l2 and also ha a marginal extension I 3 across its toe portion, these marginal portions of the sole taking the place of the usual upper-protecting selvage or welt.

In constructing the slipper which has been described, a suitable sole-shaped piece is first cut out of a sheet of leather having a proper thickness and then (if the slipper is made by hand) a suitable skiving knife is utilized, first to make a shallow, forwardly arched cut across the upper face of the sole beginning at a point I4 inwardly spaced from one side edge and continuing to a correspondingly located point spaced a little inward from the opposite side of said sole, the shape of the aforementioned throat H depending upon curvature of this out. Then the workmen will use the knife to cut forwardly from the base of the incision thus made, thereby cutting under the proper thickness, breadth and width of leather required to form the upper 8. The upper-forming portion of the leather will be suitably moistened and will thereupon be stretched and suitably shaped to cause it to conform to the foot of the wearer.

In making certain types of footwear the grain side of the leather will be utilized for the upper, and in other cases the flesh side of the leather will be made use of for the upper all depending on the surface type of footwear desired.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown a scuffing slipper wherein the heel portion I0 is omitted this type of slipper otherwise being constructed in the manner which has already been described.

It will be seen that if a truly one-piece moccasin or slipper is desired it can be constructed by using a fairly flexible leather and instead of stretching the upper to conform to the contour of the foot, the sole can be shaped to meet the upper above the usual welt line, that is to say, on the side of the foot or last at or near a point where the upper meets the sole in the ordinary Indian style moccasin.

It will also be seen that the starting point for the spl tting operation will depend upon the style or type of footwear desired; whether sandal, moccasin. house-slipper, bed-room slipper, street slipper, low shoes, high shoes, or boots or other types of footwear.

For a moccasin, sandal or slipper the splitting can begin at or slightly forward of the ball of the foot. or as far back as the upper is desired.

In connection with footwear if an extra sole is desired, the un-cut or un-split margin should be left wide enough to serve as a welt to which the extra sole can be attached by stitching.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matter claimed.

What is claimed is:

As an article of manufacture, an article of footwear having a sole portion and an upper which are parts of a single piece of leather, the front and side edges of said upper portion being located slightly inwardly from the corresponding edge portions of said sole portion.

ELIJ AH F. ALLEN. 

